Blooming chocolate

Jeannie Nichols, Michigan State University Extension - March 20, 2015

Some sweet tips to keep your chocolate from blooming, and if it does what to do about it.

Fat bloom tends to be streaked with white or gray, feels slick and melts. Sugar bloom is spotted with white, feels dry and does not melt when touched.

Blooming flowers are pretty, blooming chocolate is not. Blooming chocolate is chocolate that has a white discoloration on its surface. Chocolate that has bloomed is still safe to eat, but it has an unappetizing appearance and surface texture. Some people think bloomed chocolate is old chocolate, which is not the case.

There are lots of blooms when you are talking about flowers, but when talking about chocolate – there are only two kinds: fat bloom and sugar bloom. With sugar bloom the chocolate is spotted with white, it feels dry and does not melt when touched. Fat bloom tends to be streaked with white or gray, feels slick and melts. Both fat and sugar blooms can happen when chocolate is stored improperly.

Fat bloom occurs when the chocolate gets too warm and the cocoa butter separates from the crystallized chocolate mixture and then re-solidifies and comes to the surface. This usually happens when the chocolate is kept at a temperature higher than 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sugar bloom is the result of chocolate stored in a damp area like the refrigerator. Moisture collects on the surface of the chocolate and draws out the sugar. When the moisture evaporates, it leaves behind white sugar crystals on the surface.

Michigan State University Extension offers you three sweet tips:

Do not put chocolate in the refrigerator. The refrigerator is too humid for chocolate. Instead, place it in a good air-tight container and store the chocolate in the coolest part of your house.
The best storing temperature for chocolate is 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit. When the temperature exceeds 88-90 degrees Fahrenheit the chocolate will start to melt and blooming is more likely.
White chocolate is a mix of milk solids, cocoa butter and sugar, and contains no cocoa solids. However, white chocolate turns rancid more quickly than regular chocolate.

There is no way to fix chocolate that has bloomed, but that doesn’t mean to throw it out; use bloomed chocolate in recipes that call for melted or shredded chocolate. Enjoy thoroughly!

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).